If you are reading this by RSS, then you’ll be the first to know I haven’t died, just sorta stopped writing here for a bit. This is usual for me, and my habitual waxing and waning of interest in things. If you aren’t reading this through an RSS reader then I’ve got 2 things for you: First, get an RSS reader!!! You don’t have to waste time going to all your regular websites that you must check everyday (excluding Facebook, etc). You can get news, blogs and updates from several sites all in one spot chronologically or semantically ordered! Second, I am thankful for friends like you who actually check up on me every so often, I hope this post is rewarding enough that you’ll continue to do so in the future (or better yet, get an RSS reader!)

Since I mainly write about my life and my interests here, I’ve removed most of the advertising junk from the page, and I hope it looks nicer and less busy now. I’d love to make money through a website, but I don’t think that this one is going to be it. There are lots of ‘personal’ blogs out there that are about how to make money, coincidentally, they all make money. It is sort of a pulling yourself up by the boot straps kind of thing. After the first 100 articles, there isn’t anything new, or the only new things are new gimmicks for making money. I don’t really want to sell myself out to that kind of blogging, even though it does make money. I’ve got other blogs for that.

Speaking of other ideas. I haven’t had a lot of them recently. Work is fairly regular and quite unproductively time consuming. I spend a few hours in the Moscow Metro everyday, and with all the transfers, noises, and cramped spaces, there isn’t much to to there but read. Yes, I do read. In fact, I finished my first short story in Russian without the help of any translator, dictionary, or friend. I know I didn’t understand every detail, but the plot was easy enough and I think I got a lot out of it. I have since gone back and looked up many words that I didn’t know, as to learn from my mistakes.

So here I am, without any inspirational ideas, or any motivation for the regular thoughts I do have. I’ve always got lots of projects, but lately I’ve not been a productive person. I only consume. I use stumbleupon far too much. I read and I watch and I listen, but I don’t write, think, or do. I’ve always had a thirst for entertaining new ideas, and the internet is full of them. I feel like I have an idea overload, so all the ideas don’t seem worth pursuing, and pursuing another idea that might be ‘worth it’ is a never ending task.

I’m pretty resigned to this state for the time being. I want to start several things, like building a fish tank and getting some plants, but I can’t because I’m about to leave Moscow for over a week and fish/plants would die in that time. So, I guess I’ve started making some ‘New Year’s Resolutions.’ Here is to hoping I keep them, and they are just a bunch of talk.

I just ate a pb&j sandwich. Soft, fresh, whole wheat bread, chunky peanut butter and strawberry jam with cold milk. Mmm, Mmm good.

So good I had to update from my phone.

The Ragged Trousered Philosopher is one my new favorite reads online. I really enjoy reading their articles because they aren’t written like most philosophy essays, they are entertaining. I would recommend starting with Talking to God. Its great, but unfortunately, the idea isn’t very original. The Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke covers exactly this idea, but in novel form and only the last one really explains any theories. All the other good reads are on the left and right menus.

If that still isn’t enough philosophical reading material for you, I leave you with one of my favorite short stories, They’re made out of meat By Terry Bisson.

You’ve all heard it. The more people you get together, the dumber the group is. It probably explains why when election time comes around, we should just get monkeys to do the voting for us. Maybe just vegetables. I hear broccoli has an IQ of 10.

This also works with walking around. The larger the group, the slower the pace. I’m not exactly sure why. I’ve been with several people who like to move quickly, but the pace automatically slows down, no matter who the slowest person in the group is. When you’re like me this can be frustrating.  I enjoy getting to my destination.  How you get there may be the nobler part, but I’m no shepherd.
Recently, I read an article about people being dumber in meetings. Its not from the best of sources (ABC news), but it seems reliable. I mention this because of my urge to get things done in the most efficient way possible. At work, no matter where you work, you’ll have meetings. These meetings can go one of several ways. First, they are great and everyone contributes just what they need and we go back to work. Second, everyone tries to show up everyone else, no one listens and the meeting drags on forever, wasting everyone’s time. Lastly, the group can try unprepared brainstorming during the meeting. This is by far the worst thing that can be done in a meeting. Studies show people can’t think as well in groups. I’ve noticed this at my current workplace and I’m tired of it.

In my free time, I invent things.  Sure they aren’t always practical, but often they are.  How do I know?  I see the things I sketched turn up in Sharper Image, or in a science article about extra-solar exploration.  Sometimes years after I wrote them down.  I also like to think of new ways to do things.  I thought of the 6 day week long before I ever logged onto the internet.  I think this way about everything I do.
I’ve had several jobs where I try and suggest ways to do things differently, usually with logic and reason backing me up (sometimes sketches). The most common response to my thoughts are “we do it ‘this way’, its how we do it” sometimes with an “I’m more experienced than you” added to it.

Experience and innovation can sometimes work at odds with each other. When you want a fresh, new idea the best place to look for inspiration can be from the antithesis of it, or just fresh blood. I’m always trying to improve things and I wish my lack of ‘experience’ would stop getting in the way of people hearing me.

I’m well aware that this problem will plague me at every job I will ever have, but it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.  If I’m ever in a director/manager position, meetings will have agendas, follow Robert’s rules of order, and be as short as humanly possible.  You should work for me!

I was introduced to chess at a young age. The earliest I would guess being about 5 years old. I had little patience for it then and getting down all the pieces and how they moved was a real pain. Once I mastered the basics, everything else came much easier. I’m no grand master, or even master, but I can beat almost everyone my age or younger and most adults.

I organized a chess tournament at the American Home and went on to win it. Since then, the other teachers have been playing fairly regularly. I know that chess has helped me become more analytical and ordered in my problem solving. I just didn’t have any way to explain it. I found the following on the internets while looking up some Benjamin Franklin quotes for coworker.

The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: 1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action … 2nd, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: – the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations; … 3rd, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily…

- Benjamin Franklin “The Morals of Chess” (article) (1750)

I always thought of chess as Russia’s game. All the famous chess players I know of are Russian. Turns out the Russians thought it was America’s game! Oh well, I hope to keep playing and I hope the teachers get better so I can play them and get a real challenge! I posted this in my LJ. If you don’t play chess at all, you might still find this funny.

[The Immortal Game is the name given to a game played in 1851 by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky. It is one of the most famous chess games of all time]

“This is the true story, of seven eight strangers, picked to live work in a house, work together [all day, everyday] and have their lives taped, to find out what happens, when people stop being polite, and start getting real. The Real World.”

MTV’s next season of The Real World will take a turn for the intellectual. Eight strangers, handpicked by a professer from Illinois will be forced to spend a year in close quarters. In a nod the The Truman Show, camera crews have been removed and only hidden camera’s remain. Watch out for season 18 coming out next fall.

Season 18 will diverge from previous years because housemates won’t be chosen for sexual promiscuity, amazing good looks, unheard of alcohol tolerances, or mouths like a sailor’s. Instead, all 8 people will be interested in ESL teaching, have graduated college, and have some small love of Russia.
When the novelty wears off. when the job wears you out, and life wears you down, you’ll get a first hand look at how the other side acts, in the real world.

We’ve already covered the fact that messaging/texting/blogging on the intarweb improves our writing and strengthens our grasp on grammar, but my current occupation seems to take that learning curve and make it look like someone flat-lined.

Teaching English having only a degree in Russian and Philosophy is a lot more involved than simply being a native speaker. Sure, I can tell you with incredible accuracy if a sentence or utterance is logical and ‘can’ or ‘cannot’ be understood by English speakers. But before August 10th, I probably couldn’t have told you why. I never mix my articles, or misconjugate a verb, but I had no idea the rules or exceptions. English doesn’t have 6 noun declensions, but instead has 12 verb tenses and that doesn’t include adding rules for aspects, voices and moods. English is moody.

Since I hardly update even biweekly, adding categories seems facetious. I end up talking about work, and not work in every post. Earlier this week several of the AH teachers went to Mister Gamburger (Russian doesn’t have a soft h and they think g is closer than their hard h). Mister Gamburger is Vladimir’s attempt at a western style restaurant. The building, on the inside, looks like any Burger King or McDonalds if they didn’t have a logo to paste everywhere, and only used pastel colors. The staff all have a real full uniform, which is uncommon for cheaply priced restaurants in Russia. Speaking of cheaply priced, Mister Gamburger isn’t. Its about 10% cheaper than American prices for food that looks just like American food. That’s about where the resemblance ends. I ordered a Gamburger de lux meal and the meat wasn’t quite meat. The sauce was probably the worst tasting part of the burger, until you open it up and realize ‘de lux‘ means they added some shredded cabbage instead of lettuce. Needless to say, most of us had upset stomachs for the rest of the afternoon.

In other news… Last night my host dad kicked my ass 2 out of 3 games in chess. I used to play quite well, years ago. Now, I realize I’ve forgotten how to orchestrate the pieces, having them work as one unit. My host dad, on the other hand, trumped my every move and at the same time was subtly setting up his own attack that ended the game a lot sooner than I had expected. Now that I’m in Russia, a land known for its great chess players, I will be finding a park where old men play chess and get back into the game in time for the American Home Chess Tournament in the spring.

If you don’t click any links I provide for you when you read my posts, you should be ashamed. I give you those wonderful google ads at the top to give you an opportunity to support my adventures abroad for free! The rest of the links are mutual to the other teachers or other learned sources that I think worth your time.

If you still haven’t clicked any links I have given you this paragraph is for you. On Wednesday the last AH teacher arrived and she will be giving her mock lesson on Monday. She gets 5 days to our 3 weeks. I’m sure she’ll do fine, 3 weeks of training can’t really prepare you for the real thing, but it sure as hell can make you a lot more nervous. The restaurant next door to us, Traktir, partially burned down a while ago, the pictures are on other blogs. This weekend most of the AH teachers are going to Nizhnii Novgorod. In August, we went way over our 2.5 GB bandwidth the AH. We got reprimanded. We, hopefully, won’t do it again. Thats the news where I am.

For the next week, I will be writing or copying syllabi for my classes and writing or copying lesson plans for the first week of class.

Quick note to all my old teachers: I’ve spent the last 3 weeks in teacher training and learning lots about what it means to be a teacher. Somewhere along the way I realized that this is exactly what your job was when I was your student. Often, I find myself thinking “Damn, this is hard and complicated and there is so much that you have to prepare for, and when you’re on stage (in class) you have to keep so many things going on in your head at once. This is impossible.” and I realize you did it. Thanks.